Gerry Quinlan is in his 19th season as head women’s rowing coach at Saint Joseph’s University and has developed the Hawks into one of the East’s most competitive programs. Including his tenure at Saint Joseph’s, Quinlan has amassed more than two decades of collegiate head coaching experience.

The Hawks have continued to post solid results and in the past six years, have garnered nine medals in the Atlantic 10 Championships, including two at the 2014 conference meet. Saint Joseph's finished third in the team standings at the championships in two consecutive years, 2014 and 2015.

Saint Joseph’s medaled in three events at the 2012 Atlantic 10 Championships, and at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, the defending champion Second Varsity 8 earned a bronze medal for its third consecutive medal in the prestigious event. At the 2012 Dad Vails, Quinlan was presented with the Matthew Ledwith Coach’s Award, which is given to the outstanding coach from the previous year’s regatta.

Quinlan’s 2011 crew had one of the best seasons in school history, highlighted by two firsts for the program - a gold medal at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta and the team title in the Atlantic 10 Championships. The Hawks’ Second Varsity 8 captured the program’s first Dad Vail gold medal and the Varsity 4 took home a silver, to help SJU finish second in the team standings. Saint Joseph’s won the Freshman 8 at the conference meet, and earned top-three finishes in three other events to give the Hawks the league’s team crown for the first time ever.

In 2010, the Hawks maintained their status as one of the top teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, turned in medal-winning performances (one silver, two bronze) at the Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta, and ended the year with a trip to the prestigious Henley Royal Regatta for the second time in school history. SJU’s Varsity 8 also set a record in becoming the only team to advance to the Grand Final at the Dad Vail Regatta for six consecutive years.

The 2009 Hawks earned a number of firsts for the program. Saint Joseph's won its first-ever Atlantic 10 titles as the Varsity 8 and Quad boats earned the gold medals at the conference championships. Quinlan was recognized as the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the first time in his career while the Hawks matched their best-ever team result with a third-place finish. The Hawks earned a bronze medal, which gave them the most medals of any team in the past four years. SJU's Freshman 8 also advanced to the Grand Final for the seventh consecutive season.

In 2008 Quinlan's charges placed a then best-ever third as a team at the Atlantic 10 Championship. The Varsity 8 boat earned its first-ever medal at A-10s, placing second, while also taking first at the Jesuit Invitational and the Kelly Cup. The rest of the Hawks also dominated at the city-wide Kelly Cup races, taking first place in every contest.

Quinlan guided the Hawks to victory in the Varsity 8 at the 2006 Dad Vail Regatta while that crew earned the school's first-ever trip to the Henley Royal Regatta in England. The Hawks rowed to a silver-medal finish in the Dad Vail Varsity 8 in 2007 while the Freshman 8 took silver in 2008.

During his tenure the Hawks have won three gold medals, six silvers, and four bronze medals at the Dad Vail Regatta. SJU has finished second in the women's point trophy standings twice and combined with the Hawks' men's team to win the Dad Vail Overall Points Trophy in 2005, 2006 and 2010. Since his arrival at SJU in 1999, Quinlan has been one of the driving forces behind the growth of both the women's and men's rowing programs, nearly doubling participation during his tenure. Quinlan has been active in the development of the Robert M. Gillin, Jr. Boathouse, which opened in 2002, while maintaining alumni support and coordinating several local regattas, including the Jesuit Invitational Regatta.

Quinlan's résumé includes a six-year stint as the head coach of Northwestern University's men's and women's programs and a three-year stretch as the head women's coach at Notre Dame. His teams have won medals at the Dad Vail Regatta, the Champion International Collegiate Regatta and the Head of the Charles, and have competed in the Henley Royal Regatta and the Mexico City International Championships.

A 1991 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Quinlan spent his prep career rowing at Monsignor Bonner High School in Drexel Hill, Pa. He and his wife Linda, a former Hawks' assistant coach, reside in Philadelphia with their daughters Maeve and Tess.